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Title: Genetic diversity of wild potato of the USA

Author
item Bamberg, John
item DEL RIO, ALFONSO - University Of Wisconsin
item FERNANDEZ, CHARLES - University Of Wisconsin
item SALAS, ALBERTO - International Potato Center
item VEGA, SANDRA - University Of Wisconsin

Submitted to: American Journal of Potato Research
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/30/2015
Publication Date: 7/19/2015
Citation: Bamberg, J., del Rio, A., Fernandez, C., Salas, A., Vega, S. 2015. Genetic diversity of wild potato of the USA. American Journal of Potato Research. Paper No. G46.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The potato of commerce has two wild relatives in the USA, Solanum jamesii (jam) and S. fendleri (fen). The authors have collected samples at the natural habitats since 1992 (new), greatly increasing the geographic coverage and number of populations compared to what was in the US Potato Genebank available prior to 1992 (old). When SNPs compared samples of the two species, fen was found to have only about 60% as much heterogeneity as jam. In harmony with that estimate, when gain in diversity was estimated by AFLPs, band capture in new jam samples increased diversity by 33%, while band capture in new fen samples increased diversity by only 16%, suggesting there is less diversity in fen available to be collected. Core subsets are essentially the converse of eliminating redundant germplasm: Cores are a selected minimum number of samples that together encompass the majority of total diversity. This could be done effectively for both species, such that > 90% of diversity as inferred from AFLP bands could be captured in a minimum of 10-25% of all samples from within a species. This was particularly true for jam, where a single huge "Mega-population" at Mesa Verde, CO was found to encompass 79% of the AFLP bands detected in all samples across the entire USA range. Germplasm for jam originates only in the USA, but Series Longipedicellata (LON) relatives of fen are common throughout Mexico. When compared with AFLPs, all USA fen clustered only with Mexican fen, while the LON forms stoloniferum, polytrichon and hjertingii of Mexican origin formed distinct groups. This work shows that intensive collecting continued to capture more diversity, and in proportion to the natural diversity of the species. We showed that core collections can be chosen to make the use of these species more efficient, and that USA fen populations are clearly associated only with the fen forms of Mexico.